III. Ching Chih

The Ching Chih; narrative. The young king shows his sense of what was required of him to preserve the favor of Heaven, a constant judge; intimates his good purposes; and asks the help of his ministers to be enabled to fulfill them.

With reverence I will go
  Where duty's path is plain.
Heaven's will I clearly know;
  Its favor to retain p. 453
Is hard. Let me not say
  Heaven is remote on high,
Nor notices men's way.
  There in the starlit sky
It round about us moves,
  Inspecting all we do,
And daily disapproves
  What is not just and true.

Only a child am I.
  Treading in duty's way,
With effort vain I try
  Due reverence to display.
Each day throughout the year,
  How slight the progress seems!
But to the vision clear
  I'll pass from broken gleams.
Aid then my feeble youth
  To bear the heavy crown.
Teach me the right and truth
  Through all my life to own.